Puppy Vaccines 101

Vaccination is your puppy’s first line of defense against dangerous diseases, so it’s an important healthcare step early on in your pet’s life. For more information about the vaccines your puppy needs, read on as a Colorado Springs, CO veterinarian discusses the basics.

Core Vaccines

All puppies need what are called the core vaccines. These vaccinations protect against particularly contagious or harmful diseases like parvovirus, distemper, parainfluenza, calicivirus, rabies, and others. If you aren’t sure whether or not your pup has already received these vaccines or not, check with your veterinarian.

Non-Core Vaccines

Non-core vaccines, as the name implies, aren’t considered essential for all puppies but may help some based on exposure risk and other factors. Some examples of non-core vaccines include those that protect against Lyme disease and the Bordetella virus, which causes kennel cough.

Vaccine Schedule

Puppies can receive many of their necessary vaccines at the young age of six or eight weeks. From there, the initial vaccine regimen usually concludes at about 16 weeks of age. As your puppy grows, booster shots will be needed for most vaccinations on a yearly or multi-year basis.